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Socioeconomic disparities in CRC death rate significantly affect national economy
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Productivity loss resulting from preventable colorectal cancer deaths that occurred between 2008 and 2012, mainly affecting communities with lower socioeconomic status, cost the U.S. $6.4 billion, according to study results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved.
“A substantial number of colorectal cancer deaths are potentially preventable through routine colorectal screening,” Hannah K. Weir, PhD, senior epidemiologist with the CDC in Atlanta, said in a press release. “We found that many of those preventable deaths are in lower socioeconomic status communities, and cancer puts a huge economic burden on those communities.”
Weir and colleagues used U.S. mortality and population data from 2008 to 2012 to calculate estimates of expected CRC deaths among individuals aged 50 to 74 years. They applied the mortality rate from areas with higher socioeconomic status — defined as having an 85% high school graduation rate — to areas with lower socioeconomic status, and used excess mortality to estimate the years of potential life lost and the human capital method to estimate subsequent loss of productivity.
They found the risk of dying from CRC was inversely associated with socioeconomic status in non-Hispanic whites and blacks, and Hispanics. Overall, 85,484 deaths from CRC occurred among groups with lower socioeconomic status between 2008 and 2012, 16.8% of which were potentially preventable had the CRC mortality rate been the same as areas with higher socioeconomic status.
Communities with lower socioeconomic status had 194,927 years of potential life lost due to premature CRC deaths compared with 128,812 years in areas with higher socioeconomic status, according to the press release.
“Those are years in which these people would have been contributing to the financial welfare of their family and their community,” Weir said in the press release.
If these avoidable deaths were prevented, the U.S. would see productivity gains of $4.2 billion in men and $2.2 billion in women. These figures were based on a 3% discount rate, and included wages, salaries and expected financial contributions to family care, but did not include costs of diagnosis, treatment and care, according to the press release.
According to Weir, while CRC once disproportionately affected whites and individuals with higher socioeconomic status, these disparities have reversed in the past few decades due to increased screening and awareness.
“Higher [socioeconomic status] groups have better access to care, and have fewer barriers including being unable to take time off work,” she said, and concluded that eliminating educational disparities may help decrease CRC mortality and related productivity losses. – by Adam Leitenberger
Reference:
Weir H, et al. Abstract A89. Presented at: AACR conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov. 13-16, 2015; Atlanta.
Disclosures: The study was run by the CDC, and Weir reports no relevant financial disclosures.